9. My wife is retired from nursing,

but we both volunteer at the hospital. The hospital shut down volunteer operations two weeks ago so my wife has organized a group of ladies from her quilting club and they are making masks for the doctors and nurses. They are using virus grade furnace filter pieces for filters. Today we got a major donation of fabric (100% cotton is the best to use) and I drove over to the other side of the county to pick it up. Several hundred yards still wrapped in bolts.

18. That's great.

Can you give me a bit of detail about the furnace filter pieces? I'm a quilter and I could make these, too, for hospitals here in S.C. We're about to have trouble here because Guvnah McMaster is a Trumper idiot. Plus we're filled with Trumpers who will not keep their butts at home. Thanks.

22. I would say step one is

to contact hospitals in your area to see if they are accepting masks and if they are, chances are there is already a network of people working on them and they can put you in touch with them. This way there would be some uniformity in the masks. Just google Face Mask Patterns and you will find all the information you need.

We are using furnace filters with a MERV 13 rating. We take the filter apart, get rid of the cardboard and wire (this is a bit tedious) then take the corrugated material and iron it flat. You can get 50+ filters from one furnace filter. They slip into a pocket in the mask. Around here home improvement centers and hardware stores are classified as essential businesses and are still open.

32. Thanks

19. Same here. She's a PICU nurse and a year away from joining me in retirement.

Which wouldn't have made any difference because she would absolutely answer the call if she were retired. We're both anxious about what she might bring home. Two weeks ago we decided to change our living arrangements by sleeping in separate rooms, use separate showers, etc., anything to avoid getting this thing.

However this pans out, I could not be more proud of her and every other health care provider on the front lines.

16. +1

26. Yesterday, there was a thread

about the high percentage of workers in the healthcare sector that got the virus. That was very alarming and tragic. And yet, there is no alternative for those who are healthy and afraid to get infected as well, they can't just do the job from home.
They are our final line of defense and I had to think how catastrophic it would be if that line would fall. At the very least, it is shameful that a wealthy country cannot even guarantee them the proper equipment so that they receive the best possible protection when doing their work.